U.S. PC Brands Will Disappear in 20 Years – Founder of Acer

Nowadays U.S.-based personal computer makers – such as Dell or Hewlett-Packard – control a huge chunk of the personal computer market in the world. However, in twenty years time U.S.-based PC brands will follow U.S.-based television makers, believes the founder of Acer, one of the world’s biggest PC suppliers.

"The trend for low-priced computers will last for the coming years. But U.S. computer makers just don't know how to put such products on the market. U.S. computer brands may disappear over the next 20 years, just like what happened to US television brands " said Stan Shih, high tech entrepreneur and founder of the island's leading personal computer brand according to the Taipei-based Commercial Times newspaper, reports AFP.

It is true that Acer and other large Asian-based computer suppliers have consistently outperformed their rivals from Europe or the United States due to lower labor cost, lower profit margins and lack of investments into higher-end technology. Servers and workstations are still mostly sold by companies like Dell, IBM or HP, whereas companies like Acer or Asustek Computer only supply personal computers. Moreover, personal computers designed for gaming are still designed and built in the United States.

It remains to be seen whether brands like Dell or HP will actually disappear. The U.S. government needs personal computers and buying them from Chiba-based manufacturers may not be suitable for many institutions.

It should be kept in mind that the trends in the PC market are towards consolidation of manufacturers. Even Acer itself acquired a number of its rivals in Americas and Europe in the recent years. Perhaps, in 2030 there will be several very large PC companies in the world with managers and capital from around the globe and it will be impossible to distinguish between originally U.S.-based Dell and Taiwan-based Acer.